Recent articles
Students build coding skills block by block
04/19/2018
Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Gaming, Robotics
New knowledge is constructed by building on what we already know, making connections by tinkering with new combinations of familiar blocks.
In the same way that a musician improvises new melodies, or a poet constructs new juxtapositions of sounds, words and images, students…
Computer programming in 4 steps
03/20/2018
Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Robotics
At the secondary level, core computer science (CS) concepts and practices are taught in courses typically within the…
Coding, robotics programs are engaging learners worldwide
11/20/2019
Topics: Coding & robotics, Robotics
On a visit to a class in Sitka, Alaska, we watched second grade students gain incredible experiences in computer science skills. The teacher, Cindy Duncan, believes in teaching young children to code, so she…
4 ways to help students get workforce-ready
01/10/2018
Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Digital Citizenship, Digital storytelling, Literacies, Makerspaces, professional learning, Project-based learning
Being a student should be a little like being an apprentice preparing for life in the real world. But when school is nothing like the future workplace, that goal is impossible to reach.
So what will the real world be like when students enter the workforce? We hear a lot about…
Weigh in on the ISTE Standards for Administrators
12/18/2017
Topics: Assistive and adaptive technologies, Augmented reality, Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Digital Citizenship, Digital storytelling, Education leadership, Gamification, Gaming, Literacies, Makerspaces, Personalized Learning, professional learning, Project-based learning, Robotics, STEM & STEAM
“Leaders get people moving. They energize and mobilize. They take people and organizations to places they have never…
Focus on equity to ensure that all students are 'computer science material'
12/07/2017
Topics: Assistive and adaptive technologies, Augmented reality, Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Digital Citizenship, Digital storytelling, Gamification, Gaming, Literacies, Makerspaces, Personalized Learning, professional learning, Project-based learning, Robotics, STEM & STEAM
With the dire need for computer science (CS) skills in today’s workforce, one would think that every school in the nation would have a robust CS program. But sadly, almost half of U.S.…
Teach kids computer science through design and inquiry
12/04/2017
Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Gaming, Robotics
I first discovered computer science (CS) and coding more than 20 years ago while completing my undergraduate work. Little did I know that one day CS would be the …
![Jennie Magiera: Give voice to the untold stories of your students [video]](/www-root/2018-09/img_id_2103.png?uwBpVIrWuRVtwPRpTWLviVwNr6n7dBUm)
Jennie Magiera: Give voice to the untold stories of your students [video]
11/22/2017
Topics: 1:1, BYOD, Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Curriculum, Flipped learning, ISTE Conference & Expo, Literacies, Mobile learning, professional learning
Have you ever heard a speaker so amazing and inspiring that you knew your life would never be the same after hearing them talk? That’s what it was like to hear Jennie Magiera’s keynote speech at the 2017 ISTE Conference & Expo.
The Chicago-based educator…
5 ways every educator can lead change
11/15/2017
Topics: 1:1, BYOD, Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Curriculum, Education leadership, Flipped learning, Literacies, Mobile learning, professional learning
Educational technology has long been considered a subset among a host of education topics. That’s no longer the case, says educator Mark Gura, who believes a powerful reversal is happening – a reversal that’s creating a new reality in schools worldwide. |…
3 powerful words can unlock computer science success
07/31/2019
Topics: Coding & robotics, Computational Thinking, Gaming, Robotics
I was reminded recently of the three powerful words that capture the everyday miracles of learning and teaching. It happened as my sixth graders were just beginning to create ordered and unordered lists during their first lessons in HTML. All at once, I heard a chorus of voices exclaim…